God, Gather, Garden

The First Gardener Program

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there put the human He had formed. Genesis 2:8

At Procter Center Farm, the Sawyer Garden and Sawyer Greenhouse are learning labs for campers and guests. The 15 rows of vegetables, flowers, and gourds, plus the plot of sweet corn, will be a place for tasting, exploring, harvesting, and enjoying creation!

First Gardener Program

The First Gardener Program’s mission is to increase peoples’ abilities to connect more to nature.

Procter’s farm and eco-education programs increase creation care formation in the Diocese of Southern Ohio and raise habitat and climate change awareness in the greater Columbus and Cincinnati areas. Programs offered increase campers’, group’s, and individuals’ abilities to plant, pray, and proclaim. Procter Center Farm carries on the mission of Good News Gardens, a network of Episcopalians that commit to planting more, praying more, and proclaiming more. The partnerships in this church-wide movement involves a variety of creation care ministries, like composting, gardening, and feeding!

RSVP for the next Procter Kids Garden Club gathering by clicking the image below:

Learning Labs & Facilities

Sawyer Greenhouse

Outdoor teaching space with five raised beds, perimeter beds, a handwashing station, and benches. Farm guests and campers take a break from the sun to sit under a shade cloth to learn about Procter’s connection to the land, discuss their experiences with creation care, nature, and the garden. This space is also used for activities. For instance, identifying and learning medicinal uses for wild plants, identifying good and bad insects in compost, or making recipes directly from vegetables picked from the Sawyer Garden. This space can be used for a variety of discussion and activity-based programs that link our spirituality to God’s creation.

Sawyer Garden

100 x 50-foot field plot of approximately 15 rows of a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers for guests and campers to explore, taste, and appreciate. Here, we begin to understand our responsibility for land-care, nurturing ourselves, giving to others, and preserving God’s earth. Visitors string beans, harvest peppers, pick-flowers for Dining Hall bouquets, weed carrots, and taste multiple types of greens.

The Garden Kitchen

Introduction of farm-to-table methods in our Sawyer Greenhouse. For example, kids learn safe knife cutting skills while families make easy recipes together using ingredients harvested from the farm. Adults may make more unique recipes, like herb butter, or beet salad. During the Garden Kitchen, the smells and flavors of the farm are enjoyed in a community of people connected to the land.

A Little History

Our teaching gardens are named after John Sawyer (1925-2015), who was a farmer, philanthropist, community leader, Princeton alum, and a founder of the Cincinnati Bengals. During WWII, John was a B-17 pilot. Immediately after discharge, he started his education at Princeton University and graduated in 1949 with a bachelor’s in economics. His love of farming and flying led him to his aunt’s farm in London, OH, where he also became manager of the Procter Family Farm. John started the J. Sawyer Company, a multifaceted agriculture and real estate company. He pioneered aerial farming applications and was later inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame. Other legacies include being part of the leadership team that built the Cincinnati Red’s Riverfront Stadium, of which he was also part-owner of the team, and the Boomer Esiason Foundation to find a cure for cystic fibrosis. He gave generously to many organizations and charities including Children’s Hospital, Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, and many more other charities.

From the late-1800’s, until the 50’s, the Procter family farmed over 3,000 acres of land with cattle, soy, and corn. When the dioceses was gifted a portion of the land in the mid-50’s, the tradition of farming continued. Therefore, to the center, it has always been farmland. In 2012, the Procter Board decided to carry on the farming tradition, while also increasing awareness to sustainable agriculture by implementing a six-acre, organically grown vegetable farm.

Procter Center Farm

The farm includes hens, chickens, and hogs, has a large greenhouse, 12 raised beds, four large field plots, and a high tunnel. The farm uses only organic or natural processes to focus on soil and animal health, which results in more nutrient dense and healthier food for customers. The Procter Center Farm sells its products at the London Farm Fresh Market and at the Grove City Chamber Farms Market. Guests of Procter may also enjoy farm-to-table items during mealtimes and are welcome to purchase from the farm seven-days a week. Locals also sign up to be members of our annual Community Supported Agriculture share, which is a weekly box of seasonal specialties, vegetables, eggs, and meats.